Spirited Away
by K.Henderson
Summary: Four years after the great war and still he suffers. Everyone is dead, he no longer has a place to call home. He has lost all hope until he comes across a familiar face. One Shot that might make it to two with enough reviews. M rating induced flashbacks.


_Spirited Away_

**I don't own the characters**

Eyes opened slowly to the night sky. He remembered how cold it was in the country and reached for his coat and covering himself with it. The sky is adorned with silver stars and he swore he could see the milky way. Letting out a sigh of contentment, Sokka decided that he would give himself a few more minutes to watch the sky before he would continue his trek back to Ba Sing-Sei from Chouto, a small farming village of refuges that had seen much suffering.

Usually he wouldn't bother himself with such trivial things, as stopping by some docile war torn village but the optimist inside him, which he referred to as his sister's conscience, drove him to make the detour to Chouto and help as much as he could.

The village was filled with sick woman and children. The men had all but been killed in the war that had taken place four years before, the illness however he had no explanation for.

Looking at the stars he was reminded of his own home village, which was far away-he'd not been back since burying what was left of his sister into the snow and even then he'd barely even been there. After her body was buried in the icy snow beside his mother he'd left without a word with his surviving friends-all whom were none of his original traveling companions.

Yes, Aang, and Toph were dead as well.

Thinking back on that day, seeing all their deaths fall around him. First Toph, the arrow protruding from the tanned flesh of her chest, how she coughed up blood and gurgled his name. Falling onto the blood soaked soil beside other bodies. Her eyes seemed more dead at that moment, he supposed it had been the indication that death was at her heel.

His sister had been struck down by a collapsing hut trying to save a child. He still remembered, the hut on the cliff, the child she held onto, the crumbing sound and finally seeing her disappear with the rubble down the cliffs edge. Her eyes wide opened, her mouth opened slightly as though she was to question him, and he swore he had heard her ask _'Am I going to die?' _before she disappeared with the rubble and child. It had taken he and Iroh two days to recover her body.

Aang had made it long enough to fight the fire lord and won, but at the expense of his own life. Avatar or not, the wounds that he had sustained were lethal. Clutching his bloodied stomach he collapsed on the steps of the battle ground, not a foot away from Azula's prone body, dead.

Sokka himself had been horribly wounded, his arm had been broken, there was a scar over his right eye, though he was lucky not to lose it, and various other scars and burns marred the skin of his legs, chest and arms.

After burying his friends in all the appropriate places-Aang in the Air Temple, Toph with her parents whom also died and his sister back at the southern water tribe, he had set out to wander the world until he found his own end. He'd left Momo and Appa with Iroh in Ba Sing-Sei where they served a better purpose then with him, of course this is what he thought. The fire nation had taken a blow, they would start from scratch to rebuild it, and knowing Zuko, he'd make sure it would be a peaceful place.

He'd killed his own kin to assure that, every other person in his family, cousins, aunts, uncles-anyone that could take the thrown were the first to die in the uprising to ensure that Zuko would take the thrown after his father and sisters' death.

All save Zuko was dead.

Willing away the thoughts of that day, Sokka sat up and stretched before standing. The oil lantern at his side flickered with light as he lit it and turning his back towards the stars he set off for a place to call home, even for just a little while.

He was thought to be the useless one, and yet here he remained, alone. Scarred, sword at his side, carrying all the burden of living. He'd lost countless people. Yue, Suki, his sister and his friends…how he envied them, at peace in death.

As he walked, the lantern light his only guide, he lamented further on the irony of his life, when a voice protruded his thoughts.

"It has been a long time."

"Pakku, what are you doing out in the woods?"

The old man smiled.

"I was on my way to Chouto-I hear it is struck by an illness."

"It is."

"Then you have been there?"

Sokka nodded. "I have. What do you plan to do? Weren't you in the Southern tribe?" What he really wanted to ask was _'why was it Pakku, out of so many others to see this night, why his sister's teacher?'_

"I wish to aid them while I travel the world."

"Travel?"

"Yes. Since the war there are so many that are affected by it, I wish to help at least a little. There are others with me in their tents that also wish to help."

Sokka hadn't noticed the tents before, but lifting his lantern he could clearly see them, hidden in the darkness.

"Why help at all. They'll meet the same fate. They'll die."

"Maybe so, but isn't it enough to try?"

Sokka's eyes widened and he saw his sisters smiling face. He cleared his throat and shut his eyes, smile on his face. "You sound like you still have hope."

"I do."

"Well I don't, now if you'll excuse me Master Pakku, I'm being expected at a dear friends place." With a bow, Sokka turned on his heels and headed towards Ba Sing-Sei. Pakku stared at his retreating back and sighed.

"There is hope boy…maybe someday you'll find it again."

-

No flames please.


End file.
